Last of Days
by Kyoko kitty-chan
Summary: Demons start targeting Chris for reasons unknown. Old secrets resurface and nobody is who they say they are. Nothing is real anymore and the Halliwells aren't ready for what's coming. But they won't have a choice when it concerns one of their very own.
1. Happenings

_**A/N**_**: Hey everyone! I'm re-writing my old story, "Can't Get Enough," and this is it! I hope you guys enjoy. =)**

_**Summary**_**: Demons start targeting Chris for reasons unknown. Old secrets resurface and nobody is who they say they are. Nothing is real anymore and the Halliwells aren't ready for what's coming. But they won't have a choice when it concerns one of their very own.**

_**Warnings**_**: Cursing, sex, violence, gore, drama, lots of drama, and insanity.**

_**Disclaimer**_**: I don't own Charmed or anything Charmed related.**

_**(PAGE BREAK)**_

"_Fuck you_!"

Piper Halliwell raced down the stairs upon hearing obscenity shouted in her house and she knew exactly whose mouth it came out of. She flung herself around the corner just in time to see her middle child throw a punch at her oldest.

She threw her hands up in surprise, in an attempt to freeze them but remembered that she didn't have the power to freeze good witches. What was even more surprising was that Wyatt didn't orb away or use any magic at all to dodge the punch. He simple stood there and allowed Chris's fist to connect with his jaw. Wyatt's head snapped to the side at an alarming angle while Chris stood there breathing hard with a bruise forming nicely on his knuckles.

"HEY!" Piper shouted, running down the last few steps and placing herself between her two boys just to make sure Chris wouldn't attack Wyatt again and that Wyatt wouldn't change his mind and retaliate. "_Christopher Perry Halliwell_, what are you doing?" Piper screeched in his face, seeing some of her own spit land on Chris's pale cheeks.

"Mom," Wyatt's voice came out as a whisper. "It's nothing, I deserved it."

Before Piper could say anything Chris interjected, "You're damn right you deserved it! You pretentious asshole!"

"HEY!" Piper shouted again, turning angrily on her younger son.

Chris was a mess. His usual bed head hair was even more unruly than usual. The bags under his eyes, that most teenagers possessed, seemed to have grown darker in the past day since Piper had last seen them. His clothes were rumpled and covered in soot. There were bruises forming along his jaw line, just like there was now a bruise on Wyatt's jaw. His chest was heaving and his balled up fists were shaking in rage, like he wanted nothing more than to jump Wyatt and choke him.

"I don't know what's going on but I will not have violence in this household! And if I hear one more obscenity coming out your mouth Christopher I will permanently strip you of your powers! Do I make myself clear?"

Chris's jade eyes bore into his mother's chocolate brown ones and she could see some of the rage disappear but only some. Chris grit his teeth, threw Wyatt a look that could stop demons in their tracks and orbed away.

Piper sighed angrily, closing her eyes and counting to three before turning to her oldest. Wyatt stood there with a strange calmness about him that was eerie for someone who had just gotten punched. Through the calmness though Piper could see the shame and the sadness her oldest was trying so hard to keep quiet from the world. Something she had noticed in the past couple of weeks and something that only brought on her own sadness every time she saw it.

Unlike Chris's disheveled appearance, Wyatt remained spotless minus the purpling bruise on his jaw. His curly hair remained intact and there were only small bags under his baby blue eyes. His clothes, a black t-shirt and loose jeans, looked grungy but typical of a teenager his age.

"So," Piper started with a motherly warning in her tone. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Wyatt sighed, barely audible, and pinched the bridge of his nose slightly; something he did when he was frustrated by something. "It's nothing, just one of those stupid fights."

"That sure didn't look like _just one of those stupid fights_. You must've done something to make your brother that angry."

Wyatt's face softened with regret and he opened his mouth… only to say the opposite of what Piper wanted to hear, "I said something stupid and you know Chris- touchy, touchy. That's all."

Piper was about ask Wyatt to elaborate when he added quickly, "I have a class soon Mom. I gotta go." He leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek affectionately. "Just… don't punish Chris too badly." Without waiting for his mother's response Wyatt orbed away.

Piper threw her hands up in exasperation and let out a long sigh. "Chris!" She yelled to the ceiling. "Wyatt's gone, you can come back now!"

No familiar jingling greeted the oldest Halliwell's ears and there was no blue and white lights descending from the heavens either. Chris was ignoring her. She yelled his name one more time just as the front door swung open.

"What did Chris do this time?" A high-pitched voice asked curiously from the doorway. Piper turned to see her youngest child stepping into the foyer and closing the door behind her.

"Nothing you need to worry about Melinda," Piper said. Melinda blinked at her mother before shrugging and walking over to kiss her on the cheek in greeting.

"How was school?" Piper asked as she started walking to the kitchen to make her daughter a snack.

"Fine," Melinda answered curtly. She sat down at the counter as her mother went about making food. "Prue broke up with her boyfriend," She added as an after thought.

Piper stopped rummaging through the cupboards to stare at her daughter. "Her boyfriend?" She echoed.

"Yeah. Remember Darren?"

Piper paused in remembrance before asking, "Short blond hair, green eyes?"

Melinda nodded, taking her cell phone out of her pocket to answer the text she just received.

"He was a nice boy, why did Prudence break up with him?" Piper inquired, placing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of Melinda.

Melinda scowled. "She read his mind and found out he was thinking about dumping her for Amanda Devito so she dumped him first. He was a jerk anyways."

"She knows better than to use her powers on people," Piper reprimanded even though the person she wanted to give this lecture to wasn't there at the moment.

Melinda just shrugged in answer before pocketing her phone and grabbing the sandwich. She took a bite before asking, "So where did Chris go?"

Piper pinched her nose, feeling a headache coming on as she thought about the situation from earlier. "I don't know, he's not answering my calls."

"Want me to call him?"

Piper gazed at her daughter. "You're not part white-lighter Melinda-"

She interrupted with a roll of her eyes, "I mean with my phone Mom. We do have these things nowadays." After a beat she added, "And I don't need to be part white-lighter to call him magically anyways."

Piper just waved at her and Melinda took her phone back out of her pocket and dialed her brother's number. She placed the phone to her ear and waited for Chris to pick up. He answered on the third ring.

"Melinda, tell Mom I just need some time to cool off and she can punish me as soon as I get back home, but I'm not going back till Wyatt's gone," Chris said as soon as he answered her call.

"Wyatt's not here Chris," She said in confusion and she heard her brother breathe a sigh of relief on the other line.

"Okay, well I'll be back later. I'm at Trey's house right now-"

Melinda cut him off, "Yeah okay, sure."

Chris picked up on her disbelief and laughed a bit. "Alright I'm smoking with Jordan right now, don't tell Mom."

"Okay, be home before dinner," Melinda smiled.

"Okay, see you later."

They both hung up at the same time and Melinda lifted her gaze to her mother's own questioning one.

"He's at Trey's right now," She answered her stare. "He said he just needs to cool off for a bit but you can punish him when he gets home."

Piper grumbled under her breath about disobedient children before walking out of the kitchen. Melinda smiled at her mother's retreating back before going back to finish her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

_**(PAGE BREAK)**_

Chris sat on the swing Jordan still had attached to her tree. His cigarette was held low and smoke wafted up through the air to settle in his face. He probably would've noticed it if he hadn't been too busy kissing his girlfriend. Jordan was bent down and her long, chocolate brown hair shielded their kiss from pedestrians walking by. Chris's free hand was tangled in her brown locks as he pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. She tasted of nicotine and coffee. She moaned into his mouth as the kiss became more intimate and just when Chris was about to lose himself in it she pulled back, her hair tickling his nose.

He was about to protest but she merely smiled and said, "Your cigarette." Chris looked down to see it was burning up quickly. The kiss must have had been longer than he thought. He raised it to his lips and took a long drag on it. His whole body relaxed and he lightly blew smoke into Jordan's face. Most people would've been disgusted by it but because she smoked too so she didn't mind as much. She grabbed the cigarette and took her own drag before blowing smoke into Chris's face in retaliation. She smiled playfully at him and threw the cigarette to the ground and crushed it with the tip of her boot.

He grabbed her by the hand and dragged her over to sit on his lap. The old tree creaked in protest but it held their combined weight on the swing. She leaned against his chest and said, "Remind me to pick that up later."

"Alright," He said. They sat comfortably together as Chris lightly swung them back and forth. The only sounds heard were the tree creaking and the traffic of the outside world. It was a nice autumn evening and the air was crisp with freshly fallen leaves and mowed grass. It wasn't too cold either, it was just right.

"So what happened?" Jordan asked, turning her head slightly so that her cobalt blue eyes were locked with Chris's green ones.

Chris held back the sigh that was threatening to escape his lips and answered, "Nothing important."

Jordan let out a bark of disbelief and a teasing grin adorned her round face. "C'mon Chris you only ever come here unannounced when something is upsetting you and lately that _something_ has been your family. So just tell me already, you know how impatient I am."

Chris leaned further down, burying his face into her silky hair and smiled into it. His girlfriend was the nosiest person, even more so than his mom and aunts. He lifted his mouth slightly to speak coherently. "It's nothing, just had another fight with Wyatt."

"About hunting?" Jordan inquired. Chris nodded.

Jordan let out a sigh and without warning hopped off Chris's lap and taking her warmth with her. Chris reached for her hand to pull her back down but she instead grasped his to haul him to his feet. He allowed her to drag him off the only slightly comfortable swing and into her house through the glass doors that led to the backyard. She closed them silently behind her and waved at him in indication to follow her. He expected Jordan to lead him to her bedroom but instead she led him to the living room.

He liked Jordan's house, more so than his own even though it was much smaller compared to the manor. It always contained over-stuffed furniture that made the air a little stuffy but not unbearable. It was always a mess too but it didn't look out of place. It made it feel very homey and lived in. He loved when he went to her house rather than her coming to his. His was _too_ neat, with his neat freak of a mother always cleaning shit, and it looked alien and uninviting.

Jordan crossed the room and decided to sit on a couch that looked like it had once been neon orange until someone had personally burned most of the orange off to leave a mixture of brown and dark orange left. She patted the cushion next to hers and Chris grudgingly sat next to her, knowing what would come next.

"Do you want to have sex?"

Okay he wasn't expecting that.

He stumbled over his words and was making odd noises instead of answering her question. Jordan sat there with an eyebrow raised as if the question asked wasn't totally out of the blue or anything. Her chocolate brown hair had cascaded over her shoulders and rested on her breasts. Her defiant blue eyes were looking bored and amused at the same time and her pink, plush lips were quivering as if she was trying very hard not to laugh. Her freckles stood out against the starkness of her pale face and made her appear younger than she was. She was tiny too with a height of 5'4'' compared to Chris's 5'8'' but he never thought of her as shorter than him. Her personality made her seem 7 feet tall.

Finally Chris blubbered, "What?"

Jordan's mouth lifted into a smirk and she reiterated, "Do you want to have sex?"

Chris decided to proceed with caution. His years of dating teenage girls had helped him come to grips with the fact that all girls were tricky and fucking nuts. "Why are you offering me sex?"

"Because I want to help you feel better." She shrugged nonchalantly.

Chris blurted out, "You never want to have sex though!" His face turned red as soon as the words came out of his mouth and he tried his best not to look embarrassed.

Jordan's face remained bored and uninterested for a long ten seconds before she burst out in laughter, doubling over from her laughing fit. Chris tried to get angry about her laughing at him but all he could feel was reddening embarrassment that was making its way to his ears. He was about to say something but she beat him to it, "You're a fucking idiot."

"Huh?" Chris said.

Jordan was hastily wiping away the tears from her eyes and was trying to seize control of her slowly dying laughter. Once she composed herself, she grinned and said, "I _like_ to have sex Chris. I just didn't tell you cause then that would be all you wanted to do."

Chris look puzzled by the piece of new information Jordan gave him. "So all those times when we decided to do it and you would sigh and say, "Oh whatever," you actually wanted to do it?"

Jordan paused in consideration before nodding her head and saying, "Yeah pretty much."

"Girls are fucking nuts," He mumbled, a little bit miffed.

Jordan grinned devishly, "I wouldn't say nuts… more like _devious_."

Chris shook his head in exasperation but couldn't help but let a small smile slip onto his face. Jordan shifted closer to him, placing a hand on his thigh and let the question that hadn't been answered in the first place hang between them.

Chris was tempted, so _fucking_ tempted just to say yes but he was still in such an awful mood that he couldn't bring himself to say it. So instead of saying the words his manhood was desperately screaming at him to say he said the words his battered soul urged him to speak. "Nah, not today."

Jordan's eyes flashed disappointment for a quick second before replacing it with sympathy. She leaned forward to give him a fleeting kiss and have her hand linger on his cheek, "Okay… but do you want to tell me what happened?"

Chris locked his gazes with her and could see nothing but concern and love in his girlfriend's eyes. It hadn't always been like this between them though. At first things had been fine and perfectly suitable for a high school relationship and they were happy to be together… but they weren't in love. They both figured that they would never truly fall in love with one another but they enjoyed each other's company enough to be together for a while.

Chris was the first to fall. He had realized that his feelings for her had begun to change somewhere around the ending of their first five months together. And he realized it had developed into love when they had been at the park together goofing off. She had fallen off the swing and he had run to her side to help her up but instead she kicked his legs out and he toppled down next to her. She had crawled on top of him while he was still stunned and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. After they had finished their make out session she admitted that she twisted her ankle when she fell and Chris had burst out into laughter that didn't subside for quite a while and in his fit of laughter he had realized he loved Jordan. That he had fallen in love with a girl he had no intention of falling for in the first place and it didn't feel wrong like he thought it would. It felt right and he felt good.

Being in love looked good on him. He had visibly brightened and even his not so observant father noticed his change and just flashed him a knowing smile from time to time.

He had never felt so sure of himself than he had in those couple months of acknowledging his new feelings. Then came the day he told Jordan how he felt and he expected her to be happy, to be elated that one of them had finally said it but instead she had looked at him with sadness, a sadness that she didn't want to explain. That week remains a blur to him; he can't remember what happened that week even if his life depended on it. The only thing he knew was that he lost a significant amount of weight in the span of a week. Then one night around midnight or so Jordan had called him and told him she felt the same. He never asked her what had changed her mind or why she hadn't accepted it in the first place. He didn't want to know why he was just glad it was real and that they were finally real. They weren't just that high school couple that would eventually break up after a couple of months of dating, they were in love. And maybe one day in the future they would break it off but at that moment it seemed like there was no end and no future, there was just the moment. That beautiful fucking moment of just being with her.

Then came the day when he told her. The big secret, the one he was absolutely told not to share with any of his friends and especially his girlfriend. The secret that could destroy his family in one fatal swoop and he didn't even test-drive it. He didn't use a Truth Spell or anything of the sort. He didn't want to use magic on Jordan; he couldn't so he just told her about himself and his family. After he had finished explaining everything she kind of just looked at him as if really seeing him for the first time. She didn't call him crazy and she didn't accept him. She just sort of nodded her head and reached for a cigarette. He thought that she didn't believe him so he orbed right there in front of her and he remembers how her cigarette had dropped out of her mouth and hit the floor with a dull thud. He remembers the way she said, "Dear god," and he remembers the way she had stayed still for a good half and hour just staring at him with wide, blue eyes before slapping on an uneasy smile and saying, "Who would've thought that the rebellious teenage girl would be dating an angel? I feel like this is already a bad, romance novel." He had laughed at that and she had laughed too but for weeks after that she had looked at him with cautious eyes and uncertainty. It put a strain on their relationship and even though things were a bit shaky she never breathed a word about his secret to anyone and she never asked about it either. Never wondered about his powers or questioned them, she seemed to want to forget the whole thing entirely. And he let her. He didn't push her or force his magic on her. He let her pretend it never happened and she had completely taken him by surprise when a couple of months later she asked about magic. A weight had seemed to lift off his chest, a weight he hadn't noticed before, and their relationship had exceeded all expectations. She had finally accepted all of him and was still there. Throughout everything she had never left him. And now here she was concerned about his fight with Wyatt over demon hunting.

He looked at her thoughtfully and let a small smile slip. He shook his head once and said, "It's stupid and I overreacted a bit."

Jordan blinked. "But I've been told that only girls overreact about things. Has your gender been wrong this entire time?"

"Shut up," Chris laughed and Jordan smirked. She kissed him lightly and asked, "Are you sure everything's okay though?"

Chris kissed her in response.

"_CHRIS!"_

Chris pulled sharply away from Jordan as he heard the frantic cry of his name. His mother had been calling for him for the past hour, despite Melinda's efforts, but he had put her on mute. This call came from Melinda herself and he could tell it wasn't his mother trying to trick him to come home through Melinda. Melinda was in trouble. She was frightened.

"I gotta go," Chris said quickly to Jordan. She looked confused for a moment before nodding her head in understanding. There was no time to kiss Jordan goodbye. He let the blue and white lights engulf him and send him towards his sister's crying voice.

When Chris rematerialized small hands immediately shoved him to the floor. He heard the sound of a fireball whizzing above where he had been moments before. He looked up to two demons walking menacingly forward with fireballs in each hand. He flung his hand forward and the demons flew into a cabinet with a mangled cry.

He turned towards the person who had pushed him to the ground. His jade eyes met wild brown ones. Melinda was sitting there shaking from head to toe. The end of her hair was singed and soot coated her face. Her jeans were caked with blood but he wasn't sure if it was hers or the demons. She looked like a trapped and terrified animal and it nearly broke him seeing his younger sister like this.

He was about to ask her where the demons came from but Melinda spoke first.

"Chris, m-mom." She pointed a shaking finger to the slumped figure on the floor. Chris's heart stopped.

His mother was lying in a heap in the middle of the floor. She was unmoving with several daggers protruding from her stomach and legs. Blood dripped down the sides of her clothes, staining them.

"_MOM_!" Chris shouted, springing to his feet. A fireball barely missed him as he stood. The demons he had sent flying were up again, grunting and looking more menacing than before. One of them was holding an athame with weird inscriptions carved into the blade. He smiled and showed off his sharp teeth.

"She'll be dead soon," One of them cackled.

Rage and fear filled Chris up. His stomach churned and he wanted to retch but he stood his ground and snarled, "I'll fucking kill you first!" His rage won out against his fear as it coiled in his veins, like searing metal. Electricity bounced around in the tips of his fingers and with a furious shout it ignited. Lighting sprung from his fingertips and shot towards the one who had made the comment. His eyes grew wide and he ducked but not soon enough. It hit him in the shoulder and he screamed. Blood gushed out of charcoaled skin and pain-filled screeches pierced the air.

Chris stared amazedly at his hands and saw Melinda looking at him with the same expression. Chris looked up quickly, trying to focus on the battle rather than him developing a new power; a new draining power. He felt depleted.

His energy was tapped. Whatever weird burst he had before left him drained afterwards. He felt like passing out.

"Chris!" He barely heard the frantic cry in his light-headed state and only had time to widen his eyes in terror before the athame plunged into his abdomen. He heard Melinda's scream as if he were at a distance. He gazed down at his white t-shirt that was now turning a brilliant shade of red. He tried to say something but only the taste of iron came. He coughed and blood spattered the demons hand. The demon was still gripping the athame tightly and a wide, sadistic smile was on its face. With a jerk of his hand, the demon twisted the athame inside Chris's gut. Chris screamed and desperately flung out his hand. It sent the demon flying but only backwards a few feet.

Chris fell to his knees and saw Melinda running towards him crying out his name over and over. She was cupping his face and talking but the words came out in gibberish to him. Fresh tears were falling from her eyes and she kept talking. It looked like she was asking something but Chris couldn't make it out. If only she would slow down. If only he wasn't so dizzy. If only his vocal cords were working. If only he weren't in so much pain. If only.

The demon he had flung was behind Melinda now, with a fireball in his hand. His eyes wild, just like Melinda's had been minutes ago. Chris opened his mouth to warn Melinda but only more blood came out. He tried to raise his hand, to save Melinda but he couldn't. Tears were falling from his own eyes now as he tried desperately to raise his hand. He had to. He had to save his sister.

The demon raised its hand, ready to send the fireball at Melinda and just as it was about to release it, it burst into flames with a cry. Melinda whipped around at the sound and stared at the newcomer.

Wyatt stood there, breathing heavily, fury making his usual cerulean orbs look red. The other demon was nowhere in site, probably had run off after Chris had injured it. Wyatt ran forward, speaking quickly with Melinda but Chris heard no words. He fell to the ground and lay there as the world darkened. He tried to breathe but only choked on his own blood. Even though he was dying a horrible death he somehow felt peaceful. He felt at ease with his thoughts even if the physical pain was tormenting. He just wanted it to end. It was the one real thought he had grasped onto and didn't let go. He just wanted it to end and that thought had comforted him for some strange reason. Because either way, whether Wyatt saved him or he died, it was going to end. And that helped him ignore the pain while his senses dulled and the world darkened.

Chris gasped. He sat straight up, coughing hard. Blood splattered the floor in small droplets while he tried to breathe again. His vision was swimming but slowly came into focus as his coughs receded.

He looked up to Wyatt who stared at him with intense worry and a bit of guilt. Anger filled him at the sight of his older brother but he quickly pushed it back down. Now was not the time to be angry.

"Mom," Chris breathed, looking over to the spot his mother had been. She was no longer there and his heart dropped.

"I'm right here honey," A soft voice spoke. Chris snapped his head towards the sound of it and saw his mother sitting next to him without a scratch. The bloody daggers laid a few feet away. Chris felt sick looking at them. He saw his mother lying on the ground with those daggers sticking out of her like a magic act gone wrong. He didn't want to think about it.

Tears sprung into Chris's eyes and he angrily wiped at them. He didn't want to cry in front of his family. He had already done it in front of Melinda; he didn't need to show them his weakness anymore. He had to be strong.

"You're okay," Chris said lamely and Piper nodded with a small smile but it turned sad when she said, "We almost lost you."

"What?"

Chris could've sworn he only out of it for a minute. Had it been longer than that? Had the stab from the demon been more fatal than he assumed? Sure it had hurt like fucking hell but he didn't think it had been a fatal hit.

"It took a long time for Wyatt to heal you… w-we thought you were dead," Melinda stuttered from behind Piper. She had been hiding behind her mother to conceal her tears and shaking. Chris crawled closer to Melinda, not trusting himself to stand up, and pulled her in tight for a hug. Melinda responded to it by wrapping her own, skinny arms tightly around his neck. She cried into his blood-soaked shirt and he let her stay like that for a minute or so before pulling away to wipe at her tears. "I'm okay, I'm not going anywhere." He flashed her a reassuring smile and she nodded in response, her lips still drawn into a quivering frown.

"What happened?" Chris turned around at Wyatt's question directed towards their mother. Not a hair was out of place on Wyatt, there was blood on his hands but it wasn't his own. It either belonged to one of the demons, Piper, Melinda, or Chris.

"I was in the attic looking for something when the demons shimmered in. They took my by surprise and one threw a bunch of daggers at me. I was too surprise to freeze them," Piper explained growing angrier with each word. "I blacked out when Melinda came running in."

Wyatt turned towards Melinda in expectation. Melinda hastily wiped away her tears and tried to calm her shaking voice. "One hit me with a fireball when I came running in. I went down for a second and the other one threw one but it missed, singed my hair a bit though. I froze them quickly and called out for Chris."

"He… he shot lighting out of his hands," Melinda said.

Piper and Wyatt turned towards Chris in shock and Chris shrugged nonchalantly.

"What?" He finally asked, annoyed by their stares.

"That's an elder power," Wyatt stated. Chris only rolled his eyes and said, "Well I was conceived when Dad was an elder so naturally I would gain an elder power eventually. No need to act so surprised by it Wy. You're not the only one with good powers."

Wyatt sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked as if he wanted to say something to that but Melinda spoke up, "When the demon stabbed Chris the athame glowed."

Chris looked at Melinda. "It glowed?" She nodded her head and bit her lower lip, a nervous habit she always had.

"What does that mean?" Chris asked Piper. His mother blanched at the news and after a few moments of silence said, "I don't know."

_**(PAGE BREAK)**_

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed. =)**


	2. The Beginning

_**A/N:**_** Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all the reviews and alerts. =)**

**I would like to point out some things that my reviewers brought up.**

_**-Melinda:**_** Yes, Melinda does exist. In the very last episode of Charmed we see Piper does have another child and it is a girl (and we only assume she named her Melinda like she originally planned when she thought Wyatt was going to be a girl). She exists within the changed time line, the one that future Chris changed. And in this story it is the changed time line. I know not every author decides to write her into their fan fictions and that's perfectly fine but I decided to include her simply because I wanted to.**

_**-Jordan:**_** She won't be a big part of this story so you guys have no need to worry! I'm also one of those people who typically doesn't like when authors add their own characters to a fan fiction but I'm also a hypocrite cause I decided to do it for my own hahaha. But I promise she won't impact things too much, I just thought it'd be nice for Chris to have a girlfriend. Normally I would've made her Bianca, but I have plans for Bianca later on so it wouldn't have worked out.**

_**-Chris smoking:**_** Some said it's weird that Chris smokes considering he warned Victor not to smoke in the first place but you have to remember guys that's from the unchanged time line. Remember when future Chris told Victor he should quit smoking and Victor said, "Thanks for the heads up." I'd like to think that Victor does quit smoking in the changed time line because of what future Chris said, so therefore he isn't ill from smoking which makes this Chris unafraid of smoking. And also Chris is a rebellious teenager so of course he's gonna try things that aren't good for ones health hahaha. Maybe he'll quit it later on, I haven't decided yet.**

**I hope that clears up all the comments and questions from my reviewers! If you have any more or you'd like to me further elaborate feel free to ask! I promise I don't bite. =)**

**I hope you enjoy!**

_**Disclaimer:**_** I own nothing from Charmed.**

_**(PAGE BREAK)**_

Out of all his cousins Chris liked Henry Jr., or HJ, the best. Most Halliwells seemed to possess a habit of having to know everyone's business, especially his mother and aunts, but not HJ. The kid was as indifferent as it could get. So that's why whenever Chris needed to get away from his family and couldn't hang out with his friends for whatever reason he would call HJ to meet him.

Chris was already lighting up when he heard the familiar jingle of orbs resound next to him. He didn't turn to greet HJ and his cousin made no move to do so either. He stood silently next to Chris while the brunette took a long drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke into the chilling, evening air.

"What's up?" Chris finally asked in greeting, turning to face his cousin. Even though HJ was younger than Chris he was taller than him by an inch or two. He was a gangly teenager with chicken legs and stick arms. His hair was a brilliant shade of orange due to a potion accident, much like Aunt Paige had all those years ago, and millions of freckles adorned his pale features, which accentuated his light brown eyes. Most people confused him for a college student because of his height and face but HJ was only fourteen, soon to turn fifteen. Chris tried not to envy the younger boy but with his own boyish looks he couldn't help but be jealous.

HJ shrugged in response and said casually, "My mom went over to the Manor after Aunt Piper told her about the demon attack."

"I'm not surprised," Chris said in response and took another drag off his cigarette. His body was relaxing with each intake and he was grateful for it. He had been itching for a cigarette break after the demon attack. "Did Aunt Phoebe go too?"

HJ nodded and Chris scowled.

The redhead raised an eyebrow at Chris's reaction and asked, "Isn't it better though if they're all working on this together? The demons will be killed faster-"

Chris interrupted, "Yeah the fucking Charmed ones are on the case. They better let Scooby in on it." He took another long drag and held the smoke in for a while before letting it out.

"Should I bother to ask why you're in such a delightful mood?"

"No, I have my mother and Wyatt for that," Chris said.

HJ snickered slightly at the comment, knowing how his Aunt Piper was, before inquiring, "Is Wyatt bothering you about something?"

Chris scowled again and stomped out his cigarette, not in the mood for finishing it. Plus he didn't want to hang out in a dirty alley anymore anyways. He motioned for HJ to follow him as he headed out of the alley onto an almost deserted sidewalk. He let HJ's question go unanswered and the younger boy didn't repeat it. That's why he liked HJ, he would ask questions but if you chose to ignore it he didn't push for an answer. See, indifferent.

"So why aren't you happy about them working on this?" HJ asked in a hushed tone, not wanting to bring attention their conversation to passing pedestrians.

Chris checked once on the sidewalk to see if anyone was too close to them. He waited for an old, Chinese woman to pass them before answering. "Because they're just gonna nag me to fucking death. They're gonna want me to identify the athame and they're gonna be watching me and blah blah blah."

"Why would they be watching you?"

Oops. Chris didn't mean to let that slip out. He cursed himself silently for being such an idiot. Even though HJ let a lot of questions slide he wouldn't let this one. After chewing on his bottom lip for a couple seconds Chris finally answered, "Melinda said that when the athame stabbed me it glowed for a quick second."

HJ's usual neutral expression twisted into one of shock. "It glowed?"

Chris nodded, curling and uncurling his fingers. Now he wished he hadn't throw away a perfectly good cigarette. The two of them turned the street corner and Chris almost breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted his safe haven. The park. It was the one place he felt safe at, for magic and non-magical issues. This was the park when he had first discovered what it felt like to fall in love. Call him sentimental but this park was his and no one could take it away from him.

The two cousins swiftly crossed the street and sat down on an unoccupied bench. There was relatively no one at the park because of the odd, cold weather for August. It wasn't freezing but it was cold enough for parents to keep their kids home. Chris was glad for the lack of people, less chance of someone overhearing their conversation.

"Why did it glow?" HJ inquired, shock shifting into curiosity.

Chris shrugged and growled, "You've got me. Probably trying to steal my powers if it was my guess."

"But you still have your powers-"

"Then maybe it wasn't working," Chris interrupted, annoyance lacing his tone. "Melinda said it only glowed for a second so what harm could it actually have done?"

If Chris had been talking to anyone else, maybe besides Melinda, they would've snapped back at him for getting angry but not HJ. The kid was like a rock, completely unmovable and unflappable.

HJ was silent for a while before replying in a voice filled with doubt, "Yeah maybe."

Chris huffed in exasperation. He didn't call HJ to talk about the demon attack. He called him just to have some non-judgmental company and while the non-judgmental part was still intact the whole talking about what happened wasn't. Chris knew if he didn't change the subject now then they would never get off the topic.

"How're the twins?" Chris asked. He was tempted to pull out another cigarette but there was no smoking allowed in the park and even though there was no one around Chris still kept his cigarettes in his pocket. It was one of the rules he actually followed. He enjoyed the park too much to go against its rules.

"They're good. Hazel's getting a bit boy crazy though, which makes Holly a bit mad," HJ smiled at the thought of his younger sisters bickering.

Hazel and Holly were the twins of the Halliwell family. They were fairly young, just recently turned thirteen, but had fierce protectiveness over the other. They were always seen together and their friends accepted them as a package as did the rest of the family. They're powers were still developing but Paige predicted they would be an unstoppable duo once they had learned to control their powers.

"Ah, the boy crazy stage. I remember when Melinda was like that," Chris smiled slightly at the memory of his younger sister first discovering boys for the first time.

HJ laughed a bit. "It's gonna drive me up a wall. Holly's so mad at Hazel; she keeps avoiding her so that she won't have to talk to her. It's getting pretty ridiculous."

"Why's she mad?" Chris asked, making light conversation and basking in the glow of a conversation not centralized around magic. It was a nice change of pace.

HJ rolled his eyes at the question. "Oh it's because Holly has yet to realize that boy's don't have cooties and she's probably scared Hazel will leave her for them. So of course instead of telling Hazel how she really feels she just walks around the house, sulking, and avoiding her like the plague."

"That sounds like a lovely home environment," Chris said and HJ just sighed in response.

"No lovelier than our own home."

Both boys whipped their heads around at the statement. HJ's face showed surprised for a second before relaxing while Chris's turned angry with a firm scowl. Wyatt stood behind the bench, hands gripping the wood and his baby blue eyes looking casual as hell but his nervous foot tapping gave him away. He didn't want to be here, with Chris.

HJ glanced quickly at both brothers before saying, "I'm gonna head home." Before Chris could protest HJ orbed away and Chris cursed his blue and white orbs for leaving him with Wyatt. He knew why he did it though. He wanted them to talk and that was the last thing Chris was going to do.

Wyatt walked around the bench and took a seat next to Chris that was farther away than where HJ had been sitting. His nervous tapping picked up again as soon as he sat down and it only annoyed Chris rather than make him feel triumphant at Wyatt's own discomfort.

Chris's resolve not to talk first was about to break when Wyatt asked, "Have you been smoking?"

"No," Chris replied curtly and much too quickly.

Wyatt looked at him disapprovingly and said, "You reek of it."

"Are you gonna lecture me about this too? Cause I don't fucking want to hear it," Chris snapped.

Wyatt said nothing for a while, which was out of his character. He was always telling Chris what to do and not do whether Chris wanted to hear it or not. It was one of Wyatt's most annoying qualities and so Chris was surprised when the next words came out of his mouth, "You probably should change clothes before you see Mom so she doesn't know you were smoking."

"Okay."

They stayed quiet; the only sounds heard was the bustle of traffic and the occasional honking. The park was silent except for a paper blowing by here and there. Chris wanted to leave more than anything but he had nowhere to go that wouldn't be just as bad. He couldn't head over to Jordan's since she spending time with her family and Trey was out of town for the week. He wasn't about to head home where Piper, Paige, and Phoebe were waiting for him. His only option was to remain at the park with Wyatt, which was not too appealing either. If he bothered to orb to any other secluded spot Wyatt would just up and follow him. Nowhere was good for his needs at the moment.

"What do you want Wyatt?" Chris finally asked, diving headlong into the conversation he didn't want to have. He decided it was better just to get it over with, then he could be alone with his thoughts… if his mother didn't drag him home.

"Nothing- I mean, I don't know," Wyatt said, running his hands through his blond, curly locks. He leaned forward, elbows resting against his knees as he held his head in his hands.

"Oh stop it, would you," Chris spat and Wyatt raised his head to give his brother a quizzical look. "This whole pretending to be guilty shit is getting old Wyatt."

Wyatt scoffed, "You think I'm pretending to feel _guilt_?"

"Yes!" Chris snapped, "You're pretending to feel guilty about what you did so that I'll just apologize for the fight and we can be okay again. Well, I'm not falling for it so you can just drop the charade."

Wyatt laughed but it was hard and hollow, containing none of its usual pleasantries. "You're a real piece of work Chris, you know that?" He said unkindly.

Chris jumped to his feet, no longer able to sit with anger threatening to boil over. He had to told Jordan he overreacted with Wyatt and at the time he had believed it, but at this moment he knew that was bullshit. He did _not_ overreact with this prick.

"Oh really? Wanna lecture me about that too? Because I forgot that you must be my _fucking_ mother for all the lectures I get from you!" Chris shouted and was glad there was no one out. If there had been the normal amount of pedestrians they would've heard his shouting and stopped to watch the spectacle.

Wyatt had clambered to his feet at well, towering over Chris with his height of 6'2''. His nostrils were flared and his fingers were curling slowly into fists, mimicking Chris's own.

"You're such a dense idiot that I can only hope I get through to you! But of course you're too self-involved with your own pity fest to even bother wonder why I lecture you in the first place!" Wyatt yelled.

Chris barked out harsh laughter that died quickly. "My _pity fest_? Did you ever consider the possibility that maybe I need to pity myself for a while?"

Wyatt's anger disappeared as quickly as it had come. His flared nostrils and knitted eyebrows relaxed and his whole demeanor took on one of somber. His blazing, blue eyes dulled into saddened gray. He took a breath before saying; "I'm just trying to keep you alive."

Chris was trying desperately to hold onto his anger and in a last attempt to keep hold of it he lashed out at Wyatt. "I don't need your fucking help and _I don't need you_!"

The words felt like poison on his tongue. He wanted to take them back as soon as they came out of his mouth but he couldn't. Not after the way Wyatt treated him. Even though he knew his older brother deserved it the look on his face pained Chris to look at. He couldn't stand it. He gave Wyatt one last scornful look, mostly to convince Chris that Wyatt deserved every hate-filled word, and orbed away.

While his body disintegrated into orbs Chris could feel his brother's eyes watching him with a defeated look. He should've felt happy that he beaten Wyatt's spirit but all he could feel was anger at himself, for letting it go that far.

_**(PAGE BREAK)**_

_Chris's breathing was labored and the dirty puddle riddled with fresh blood wasn't helping any. He coughed and new blood added to swirling pile of red in the dark, murky water. He tried desperately to move his arms, or any of his body parts but his body wasn't cooperating. The mere struggle to try and move drained any last energy he had but he didn't pass out. He couldn't. The world was growing dark around the edges and yet he still remained conscious. _

_ His lacerated arms stung with each passing second and his battered legs ached with a dull throb that was slowly turning into numbness, which wasn't a good sign. He barely noticed the gentle hand pushing back bloody bangs from his clammy skin. He barely heard the talking in his ear._

_ "If you had just come with me Chris… if you had just come with me this wouldn't have had to happen. Will you come with me now?" The voice whispered in a soothing and disapproving tone. Chris tried to respond with his usual sarcastic comment but he only choked on more blood that poured into the now red puddle. He was going to die. Chris was going to die and_ _**he**__ was gonna sit back and watch._

_ "Oh… seems like you can't talk. We can't have that," The voice spoke. "I'll heal you just enough for you to be able to speak."_

_ Chris's eyes tried to focus on the figure kneeling before him but his eyes couldn't seem to focus. He could only see red. He wasn't sure if he was seeing his blood or he was finally embracing death's cold grip._

_ Warmth spread into his lungs and throat and Chris gasped for breath. More blood dribbled out of his mouth, but that was the last of it. He sucked in large breaths, grateful for the ability to breathe properly. If he was going to die now it wouldn't be from suffocation. The thought wasn't very comforting still._

_ "Now, what were you trying to say before?" The voice asked in mocking tone._

_Rage burned in Chris's stomach. He wanted nothing more than to punch the bastard till he was as bloody and wounded as he was but with no energy it was nothing more than a pleasant fantasy, a very pleasant fantasy._

_ "You…c-can shove it u-up your ass," Chris breathed, his voice hoarse and throat still sticky from all the blood. The figure made a tsk-tsk sound at Chris's response._

_ "Chris, Chris… that wasn't the right answer." Chris cried out in pain as the person's boot collided with his chest. Chris was kicked back a couple of feet and laid there in a crumpled heap, entirely unmoving._

_ The boot connected with his temple this time and Chris's vision blotted in and out. It was amazing he didn't pass out then and there. He just wanted the blackness to claim him, to whisk him away from reality for a couple of hours, even if it was just hollowness. It was better than anything real anyways._

_ Disoriented, Chris almost missed the next proposal. "Join me already Chris. Your spirit was…" The attacker paused, looking for a word to use, "amusing at first but now it's time to own up to your responsibilities."_

_ "And w-what… responsibilities w-would that be… Wyatt?" Chris choked out._

_Wyatt bent his head; his long curls falling over his baby blue eyes for a brief second. He was smirking and his hands were laced behind his back as if the whole situation was very casual to him._

_ His smirked widened as he said, "The responsibilities of family, of course."_

_Chris had no time to reply as Wyatt stepped on Chris's throat, cutting off his breathing. Chris tried to raise his arms to pry Wyatt's foot off but his arms wouldn't lift even an inch. He choked and gasped for air but none came. His vision grew fuzzy as tears streamed from his eyes into his still open wounds. They stung for a moment, then, all was black._

Chris shot up in bed, hands grabbing for his throat, and tears burning the back of his eyelids. He gasped for air and was surprised for a moment when air was sucked into his lungs. He coughed at the unexpected oxygen and sat there coughing and gasping for air for quite some time. Sweat dampened his brow and his hands that had clawed at his throat, leaving thin red lines, were shaking ever so slightly.

He waited till his erratic heartbeat calmed before he tried to figure out what had just happened. He first checked his arms for cuts and then his legs for bruises. When he found none he was thoroughly confused. Hadn't Wyatt just been torturing him in an alleyway?

Wait… Wyatt torturing? His brother wouldn't torture him; no matter how much he pissed him off and that Wyatt… wait…what Wyatt?

Chris's head felt as if it was cracking open. He laid back down and waited for the migraine to subside. He needed to sort through his thoughts instead of tackling all of them at once.

Confused and shaken to the core, Chris gathered his bearings. He decided to figure out where he was first. He cracked open a sleepy eye and observed his surroundings. There was an oak bookcase, filled with magazines and old birthday presents instead of books, placed against a beige wall with a wire-rimmed basket filled with garbage next to it. To his left was a dresser with drawers left lazily open and a mixture of clothes strewn haphazardly over the hard wood floor. Music players and dirty textbooks layered the top of the dresser in a messy manner. A nightstand sat to the right with a simple lamp and alarm clock decorating the top. Posters of movies and video games adorned the beige walls. Chris's hands clenched the warm sheets beneath and his brilliant deduction abilities lead him to believe that he was in bed. He was in his own room.

That was when it hit him. It had been a dream. Granted, a horribly, realistic dream but a dream nonetheless. Chris gingerly touched his neck where he had inflicted his own pain, not the dream Wyatt. He had scratched his neck in panic and now his mother was going to ask him where they came from in the morning. He needed a smoke.

Chris crossed his room, in a flimsy t-shirt and boxers, and rifled through his jeans on the ground to look for his cigarettes. It took him five different tries to find his cigarettes in the right pair of jeans and by then he was irritated and in desperate need of a smoke.

He collected his lighter from the same pair of jeans and walked over to the window. He quietly lifted the glass pane. Melinda slept in the room next to his and she was a light sleeper. The littlest noise woke that kid up.

Cold air swooped into the mild room and Chris shivered despite himself. His damp sweat turned frigid and he just wanted to finish his cigarette quickly. He lit up and leaned a little out of the window as he took a long drag and unwilling released it into the chilly, night air.

"Chris?"

The voice startled him. He dropped his cigarette and watched as it barreled towards the ground, hitting it with no sound. He wanted to scream but he held it in. he gripped his lighter tightly with his box of cigarettes. If the person behind him was his mother he was completely fucked. He turned his head slightly to check and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Melinda, you scared the shit out of me," Chris said. He glanced back towards the ground to see if his cigarette had set the grass on fire. The lack of a blazing fiery and smoky demise was a good sign that that grass hadn't caught. Burning down the house would've taken a lot of explaining to do.

He turned back to Melinda. She was dressed in a large t-shirt that hung too big on her small frame, and checkered pajama bottoms. Her curly brown hair was mussed up and she was rubbing tiredly at her eyes. She stifled a yawn as she said, "Sorry… I thought you heard me come in."

"I didn't."

Chris placed his hand clutching the lighter and pack behind his back. Melinda knew he smoked but he knew she wasn't thrilled about it. And he definitely didn't need another member of his family up his ass.

Melinda's eyes widened a bit as she became more awake with each passing second. She stared at Chris and then at the open window. "Why is your window open?"

"I was getting some air," Chris deadpanned.

Melinda stared at him again before saying, "Oh, okay," and returning to her bedroom. She closed Chris's door with a soft thud and he could hear her shuffling her feet as she made her way back to her room. He knew Melinda could tell he was lying but he had to love her for not prying. She was a bit like HJ in that aspect but she was still a Halliwell. Prying was a must. She only reserved the unspoken no prying rule when she knew the other person just simply didn't want to talk about it. Not the I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it-but-I-actually-do. The actual, _I don't fucking want to talk about it._

Chris leaned against the windowsill and gazed at the ground. He made a mental note to retrieve his fallen cigarette in the morning. He was about to reach for a new one when something stopped him. A dark shape just ran across his front yard. Without giving it a second thought, Chris orbed to the front yard.

When he rematerialized he scanned the surroundings for the shape. His nerves were wired and as he looked around his yard. He was sure he had seen something. But now there was nothing. He called out, "Hello?"

Only the breeze answered him, His hair whipped around his face and pushed back his bangs to see properly. The property remained dark and unmoving.

Chris's nerves were still wired but he reasoned that it was probably an animal. He looked down at his attire and was thankful for the darkness and lack of streetlights turned on. He was about to orb back to his room when he remembered the cigarette. He ran over to the edge of the hedges and spied the smoldering glow of his cig. It was already finished when he threw it in his trashcan on the curb. He looked around once more to make sure no one was watching before orbing back to his bedroom.

He crossed the creaky floorboards littered with clothes and crawled underneath the covers. Chris couldn't help but think how in the morning he was expected to help his mother with the recent demon attack. He didn't want the responsibility of identifying the demons on his shoulder in order to help his family.

_ "The responsibilities of family, of course."_

The words plagued him even after sleep had claimed him for its own.

_**(PAGE BREAK)**_

**A/N: Well I hope you guys liked it! Thanks for reading! =)**


End file.
